Interior of a Mind
by frosty wonder ice
Summary: A LOT of character deaths! Twisted ending, not something you'll expect. Hints at DaikenKensuke.
1. First Strike

I know I already posted this fic under the pen name 'frozensunshine' but I'd rather have it under my _real_ name and since it didn't have that many reviews I decided it wouldn't be that big of a move. So read on and please review. 

**Warning**: Let me remind you this is a horror fic and it does have a few bloody scenes.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Digimon or anything related to it. I do, however, own this fic so don't steal it.

People die. You of all should know. Is that an insult? Yes. Don't appear to be so surprised. I'm not weak anymore. Yes, **you are, but not me. That's why you're depressed. You could always give in now and make this easier. On who? Me, of course. You consider me a fool, but I'm not. You consider me to be crazy, but did you ever think about you? You are. You're still weak. That's why you fell so easily into my hands. You are because you never knew till now. Come now; don't be so defiant. You're mine. You can't get away. Are you afraid? Yes? No? You'll have to pick one, but only to conclude it for yourself. I know you are. You are. You are. You are. I will make sure that you don't get away this time. The last thing you'll see before you die is my face. You'll be dead and I'll be alive. Don't you know who I am? Of course you do. You can see me in your mind now. You deny that you've ever seen me? That's an insult to me. You know who I am.  You know because you and I have been together for a long time. We're hardly ever apart, if there is a time at all. Can you see me now? No? Yes? Yes, you can. You just don't want to admit it. You ****can't admit it. Are you still afraid? Yes, you are… hmm… don't be. It'll all be over soon.**

Chapter 1 

: : 5:46 PM Monday : :

Sora Takenouchi sat on the hillside and looked across the small beachside towards the vast ocean. It stretched forever, or so it seemed to her. The sun in the pinkish purple sky was setting and appeared to be dipping into the deep darkness of the blue water. A slight chill was set in the air and made her tug at the sweater draped on her shoulders.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

She turned and smiled at Yamato Ishida as he sat down beside her. The waves crashing against the rocks along the shore and the sound of the wind whistling past flowed into the both of them, making them feel delightfully warm, despite the winter air.

"It really is," Sora breathed at last. Her cheeks and nose were rosy red from the wind nipping at them. Her fingers were numb and hard to move, but at the moment she didn't really care to move.

"Aren't you glad you came with us?" Matt asked. His eyes sparkled and a smile crept across his face.

"Yeah," Sora murmured. She watched Matt's Golden Retriever attempt to catch the birds that had landed on the water's edge. It's frantic barking and desperate efforts amused her.

"I am, too," Matt replied, his voice stricken with concern and his face a little more serious now. He touched Sora lightly on the shoulder. "I've been real worried about… all this…"

Sora frowned and looked down at the ground in front of her. She knew what Matt was talking about, but why did he have to bring it up at such a picturesque moment? The wind blew a breath harder, and relaxed again, as if to exaggerate how Sora needed to talk about this.

"Sora…?" Matt spoke softly and delicately, like he to a child. Sora cleared her throat and looked at him.

"I got another one," she whispered hoarsely.

Matt's eyes widened. "When?"

Sora shivered. "Yesterday."

On top of the hill was a beach house, old and worn with many years. Its walls and roof were damaged with years of ruthless wind pressing against them and merciless rain bearing down onto them. It swayed now with the winds changing directions, creaking and moaning.

But still, the inside of the beach house was homey, and warm, along with being more appealing on the inside than the out. There was a fire lit in the den, but no one sat on the couches in front of it to enjoy the warmth.

There was someone, however who stared out one of the two windows facing the ocean and its beach. That person leaned his head against the cold glass of the window and watched the two people who sat on the hillside. Taichi Kamiya was trying to place his thoughts.

_I wonder what they're talking about. Tai thought, as he observed Matt and Sora. He sighed and looked away into the empty room. The fire cracked as one of the logs broke and fell into the ashes below it._

The door on the other side of the den opened, catching Tai's attention. He glimpsed up to see Takeru Takaishi walk into the room, letting a hum of laughter pour into the room with him. The younger boy smiled and walked to the other window in the room and peered at the two on the hillside.

"How long have they been out there?" TK asked, concerned about the cold.

"Matt just went out there to get her," Tai replied and looked back at Matt and Sora. They were still talking, and now Matt's face appeared to be angry. Sora was looking at the ground.

"I wonder what they're talking about," TK said. Tai raised an eyebrow at TK having said what he had been thinking only a few minutes before. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Matt's younger clone.

Sighing, Tai finally pulled away from the window whenever he saw Matt and Sora stand up. TK stayed by the window a few seconds longer, but retreated to the couch as Matt stared up to the beach house.

For a moment, TK came across as a ghost in the old beach house. Matt breathed in deeply and squinted his eyes to see better, but the boy had already vanished from the window. It gave Matt a sudden fear, but he kept his fear to himself.

Sora's eyes remained on the ground. She heard Matt take in a deep breath beside her, but still didn't bother to look up. His hand tightened on her shoulder and he pulled her closer, yet she kept her eyes from lifting, afraid of what she might find there.

Tai and TK sat on the couch in silence. They heard the door in the mudroom open and the thump of shoes dropping onto the floor. In a few seconds Matt and Sora walked into he den. TK smiled at Matt and got off the couch.

"Is it cold enough out there?" TK asked. Sora rubbed her pink cheeks and nodded. Tai appeared behind TK and handed her a tissue.

"Thank you," Sora said sweetly. Tai smiled and sat back on the couch. Matt dropped down beside him.

"Where's everyone else? In the dining room?" Matt asked.

"Yeah," TK said. He and Sora sat down on the couch opposite the one Matt and Tai were on.

"Izzy said that a storm is coming. We might lose some contact with the main island for a while when it does," Tai said, changing the subject. "He also said that it would be hard to get off the island in the storm, so he and Mimi are going back tonight to get some stuff. They'll be back tomorrow morning."

"So if you need anything, then you might want to go with them," TK finished for Tai. Sora and Matt nodded.

Outside, the storm was already moving closer. The tremendous waves of the ocean crashed against the rocks on the beachside. A lighthouse, on a small peninsula-like piece of the island, buzzed as it turned on. The light flashed around, shining through the windows of the den. The sun had almost completely gone down by now and with the storm setting in, it became very dark on the island.

The wind hit the side of the beach house with massive force. The group of trees that the teenagers called "Wonder Woods" that lay further into the small island leaned in the wind. A few sounds of breaking limbs and the whistling of the leaves could be heard.

But all was at piece inside the beach house. Izzy Isumi and Mimi Tachikawa were preparing to leave for the night. Mimi had a list of things that she needed, along with everyone else's requests and Izzy printed out some pictures of what was to be expected of the storm. He pulled Joe Kido to one side of the room where the others wouldn't disturb them.

"I don't know if we will be able to come back tomorrow morning, or even tomorrow at all. It may be days before we can come back. This storm is beginning to look very violent," Izzy said quietly to Joe.

The older boy nodded. He folded his arms and considered what Izzy had told him. "Do you think the ferry will even be able to come for you tonight? The waves out there look big, or so I can tell whenever the lighthouse goes across them."

"I don't know. They may radio us back and say they can't come," Izzy replied. He glanced out the dining room window and noticed that little rain droplets were hitting the glass. "If we're going to go, then we'd better go now before it gets too serious."

Joe nodded and radioed the main land to confirm that the ferry was coming while Izzy went to find Mimi. There was a lot of static across the radio due to the storm, but Joe managed to hear what the coastguard was saying. He gave Izzy thumbs up as he walked through the door with Mimi.

The two headed for the mudroom to get their coats on. Mimi wrapped her pink raincoat around herself and took the umbrella that Joe was offering her. Izzy got another umbrella and, after waving goodbye, they dashed through the door into the rain.

The peer was a good distance from the beach house, and downhill, so the water drained towards the ocean and also created puddles. Mimi tried her best to dodge these puddles, but found it very hard. She was wearing her flip-flop sandals and the water splashed onto her feet.

"I'm getting all wet!" she yelled through the rain to Izzy. He glanced down at her feet and laughed.

"I told you to wear your boats!" he shouted back. Mimi gave him a frustrated look.

"Boots with these pants! Do you know how ridiculous that would look?" Mimi griped. Izzy laughed at her again. She rolled her eyes and tried to forget that her freshly painted toenails were going to be ruined.

The waves of the ocean smashed into the peer. Izzy and Mimi stood at the base of the hill in stun. They were for sure going to get soaked. In the distance they could see the ferry's lights and hear its horn as it crossed the raging ocean.

Mimi glimpsed over her shoulder. She couldn't see the beach house anymore since they were too far down the hill, but looked anyway. A nervous feeling crept through her and she turned to Izzy.

"I've got a bad feeling about this!" She yelled. Izzy could hear her voice but couldn't distinguish what she was saying over the crash of the waves. He leaned in closer to her.

"What?"

"I said that I've got a bad feeling about this!" Mimi repeated. Izzy smiled.

"Don't worry, your feet will be fine!" Izzy teased. Mimi smiled but shook her head.

"Not about **this** this! About leaving the other behind!" Mimi pointed up the hill. "I think they should all come with us!"

"Why?" Izzy asked. He looked up the hill and shrugged. "They'll be fine! They have plenty of food and firewood! Beside, do you really want to run back up the hill to get them?"

Mimi shook her head and Izzy converted his attention back to the ferry that was now closer. Again, Mimi looked over her shoulder and felt a stir of feelings inside of her. She chewed on her lower lip nervously.

Izzy saw the worried look on Mimi's face out of the corner of his eye and sighed deeply. "Do you really want to them to come along?"

"Yeah!" Mimi answered. Her voice was taken away by the wind. She rubbed her throat sorely from having to yell so much. "I just have this odd feeling!"

"You're just nervous! Don't worry so much!" Izzy pointed at the ferry that had finally made it to the peer. "We need to get going!"

Mimi nodded and followed Izzy across the peer, getting splashed and soaked by the ocean water. One of the shipmates had climbed onto the peer and helped her onto the boat's deck. Izzy climbed on right behind her and the shipmate lead them to the cabin where they could be dry.

Taking one last look, Mimi turned away from the island and followed Izzy to the dryer place. _I hope he's right. _She thought. _I hope they're going to be okay._

Daisuke Motimiya leaned against the wall and stared out the dining room window. He couldn't see Mimi or Izzy, but he could see the ferry and watched as it stopped at where he guessed the peer was and then pulled away again.

The lighthouse flashed his way about the same time lightening cracked the sky. He could see the ocean waves colliding with the beachside and the ferry as it went back to the main land. Sighing, he turned away from the window.

Ken Ichijouji was sitting at the table drinking a glass of water and reading. He looked up at Davis when he turned from the window and smiled before going back to his book. He liked the way it was quiet enough that he could hear the rain on the rooftop.

Davis frowned at Ken. _Great, he'll be reading for hours. _He thought disappointingly before walking to the kitchen where Yolei and Hikari Kamiya were. The two girls barely acknowledged his presence by sending him a fleeting look.

"So what I'm saying is that he could have surrendered," Yolei was saying. She drummed her fingers on the table. "It would've made the movie stupid, but there's still the possibility."

"But even if it hadn't been a movie, he wouldn't have surrendered. It's like an army thing. They don't know how to give up," Kari retorted. She watched Yolei's hand in annoyance, but didn't say anything.

Davis strolled to the refrigerator to get some milk, but Yolei grabbed his arm as he passed her. He sighed, knowing that he was about to get drug into whatever dispute the girls had.

"Davis, do you think someone would or wouldn't surrender if they had six guns pointed in their direction?" Yolei asked. She and Kari stared intently at him.

Not really caring, Davis just shrugged. "I don't know. I never saw the movie."

"Come on. You don't have to see the movie to answer this. Do you or don't you?" Yolei squeezed his arm waiting for him to answer.

"I don't know," Davis replied. The two girls groaned at his answer so he sighed and added, "It would depend on the person. If the person were a coward, then they'd give in. If they weren't, then they wouldn't. Can I go now?"

Yolei released him and the two girls continued with their pointless babbling. Davis wasn't really in the mood for milk anymore so instead he went back to the dining room. Ken was still deep into his book in there, so Davis made his way to the den.

Joe and Sora were leaving as he walked in. Matt and Tai were standing at one of the windows, staring out into the stormy night and speaking quietly to each other. TK sat alone on one of the couches and that's where Davis decided to go.

He sat down beside TK and sighed. Their 'week of fun' hadn't started out very fun, and now that it was raining they wouldn't be able to do anything outside. Not that they'd want to anyway because of the cold.

TK turned to Davis and said, "Ken or Tai?"

Davis blinked at the question. He smiled uneasily. "That's like me asking you 'Kari or Yolei'."

"Oh?" TK's eyes widened. "How so?"

"Come on. You know how I feel," Davis muttered. He shifted awkwardly on the couch. This subject still made him tense even though it had been straightened out long before.

TK smirked. "Right. I forgot."

"I bet you did," Davis grumbled under his breath.

In the dining room, Ken propped his feet up on the table and leaned back in his chair. He heard the ground creak under him, but didn't care enough to let his eyes stray from the book. He was almost in a dream state with the rain pattering on the roof and the quietness of the room lightly broken by the click of the clock on the wall.

This was bliss. He could sit there reading for hours on end. But, of course, happiness doesn't last long. Ken's perfect silence was disrupted as Yolei popped her head from behind the kitchen door and stared at her prey.

"Hey Ken! What are you reading?" she perked and skipped into the room. Ken's eyes flicked from the book to her.

"A book," he scoffed.

"I can see that, but what's the title?" Yolei said, not at all catching the hint of annoyance in Ken's voice. He sighed and closed the book, realizing that his idyllic state was slipping through his fingers.

"It's called 'Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo,'" Ken said and slid the book across the table to Yolei as she sat down.

"Oh," Yolei mumbled, not really interested. She glanced at the cover and slid it back to Ken. "Looks appealing."

"It is. I'm at a very intense part in the book and I especially want to know what happens next," Ken hinted. Yolei didn't seem to pick up on what he was insinuating at. Instead, she began to play with the fringe on the tips of the tablecloth.

"So, I was wondering," Yolei launched, "do you and Davis have a… thing?"

"A thing?" Ken asked, frowning. He was fortunate enough to not have to answer because Kari walked through the door, interrupting the uncomfortable conversation.

"Can one of you go get Matt? Joe and Sora are having problems cooking," Kari asked. In a flash, Ken had leaped out of his chair and was walking to the den's door.

"I'll get him," Ken happily obliged and departed through the other door.

He saw Davis and TK first and smiled at the two. Matt and Tai stopped talking whenever he walked over to the two of them. He heard Tai say 'Yolei' but Matt shushed him as Ken walked up. The two older boys stared at Ken coldly.

"Do you need something?" Matt asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. Ken stirred at the tone he used.

"Uh, yeah," Ken said slowly. "Sora and Joe need you in the kitchen."

"Kay," Matt said. He strode out of the room quickly, but not without first sending Tai a look of conviction. He vanished from the room a few seconds later.

_How odd. _Ken thought. _I wonder what they were talking about…_

: : 4:32 AM Tuesday : :

Yolei stretched and stepped into the kitchen. The linoleum was freezing against her bare feet. She flipped on the lights, causing her eyes to squint at the sudden brightness. The rain was still coming down hard; she could hear it hitting the glass on the side door.

"I'm so thirsty," she muttered and ambled towards the sink. Yolei opened the cabinets above her head and grabbed a cup. Her throat was extremely dry and she was very happy to get the water.

As she was drinking, Yolei heard the door open behind her. She turned and smiled at the other person who stood in the doorway, and then turned back around to finish her water. When she had drunk enough, she placed the cup into the sink and snatched a paper towel to wipe her mouth.

"So why are you up?" Yolei said over her shoulder. She heard their footsteps as they slowly walked towards her. She laughed when they didn't answer. "Are you still too groggy to talk? It is really early."

Yolei felt an arm wrap around her and something cold and hard press against her throat. Suddenly, her breath was taken away and immense pain followed the object as it left her throat. Her hands flew up and she felt something warm and sticky against her fingers. She pulled her hands away to see that they were dark red.

She couldn't breath. It hurt so much. She grabbed onto the counter, but didn't have enough strength and collapsed to the floor, leaving a bloody handprint down the side of the cabinets. She rolled onto her back and raised her murky eyes to the person leaning over her with a bloody butcher knife in their hand.

Then everything was dark.

: : 7:24 AM  Tuesday : :

Sora sat up and stretched. She had gone out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow. The day before had been so exhausting. She yawned and rubbed her eyes.  Across the room, she saw that Kari's little overnight bed of quilts and blankets on the floor was empty, and so was Yolei's.

_They must already be awake. _She thought and glanced at the clock beside her bed. _Hmm… they get up too early. _Sora normally would have lain back down and gone back to sleep, but her stomach protested and begged her to get up.

She sighed and slipped out of bed, trembling at the cold of the floor. She found her duffle bag and changed out of her nightclothes into a plain shirt, a pair of old blue jeans and some raggedy tennis shoes. She shivered and grabbed her favorite blue sweater.

Stretching again, she walked into the kitchen. Matt and Kari were sitting at the table in there, both looking up at her as she strolled in. Matt was reading some kind of sports magazine and smiled at her. She smiled back and went to the refrigerator for some milk.

"Sora, do you know if Yolei went somewhere?" Kari asked, her voice giving a slight hint of concern. Sora shook her head and shrugged. It would seem like Yolei to disappear.

"She probably went for a walk or something," Sora replied. She took her cup of milk and sat down between Matt and Kari at the table. Kari had the most disbelieving look on her face.

"In the rain?" she said dryly, which was a bit odd to Sora to hear such doubt from Kari. Sora shrugged again.

"I don't know. We **are** talking about Yolei, let me remind you," Sora said. She sighed when she saw Kari frown with disappointment and put a comforting arm around her. "Look, wherever Yolei has disappeared to, I'm sure she's okay."

"You're right. I'm just so… worried. You see, last night, I remember seeing her get up, like really early in the morning," Kari said. She shook her head and laughed at herself for being so silly. "You're probably right. Yolei's is perfectly fine.

Matt dropped his magazine on the table and looked at Sora. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

"Yeah," Sora said, placing a hand on her rumbling stomach.

"Then go get it." Matt grinned impishly at her. Sora stared back at him curiously. He reminded her of an elf when he grinned like that. Pointing towards the kitchen door, he said, "There's a box of waffles in the outside freezer."

"In the outside freezer? Why the outside freezer?" Sora complained.

"The one in the fridge is too small. It's full of a lot of other stuff," Matt elucidated. He saw Sora flinch and laughed. "Are you hungry enough to go out there?"

"Why don't you go?" Sora demanded. Matt pointed at his clothes. He was wearing a robe and boxers, but nothing more. She groaned again and glanced at Kari, but Kari was still in her nightclothes, too. Sora frowned. "Am I the only one who gets dressed around here?"

"Looks like it," Matt snorted, catching an evil eye from Sora.

Groaning, she pushed her chair back and got up. After dropping her empty glass in the sink, she sauntered to the mudroom to get her raincoat, an umbrella, and a flashlight. The outside freezer was in a little shed near the kitchen's side door, but the light in it didn't work very well.

She quietly passed back through the den, avoiding the little masses that were her friends curled up on the floor. The guys had to sleep on the floor, or couches, in the den while the girls were allowed the bedroom. Of course, Sora was the only one who got the bed. Yolei and Kari insisted that she did, even though Yolei really wanted it.

Kari had already left the kitchen when Sora came back through. Matt had started to read his magazine again and smirked to himself as Sora opened the kitchen door. The rain had eased up a bit from earlier, but it was still coming down steady. Sora popped the umbrella in one hand and held the flashlight close to her with the other.

She leaped into the rain, hearing the screen door slam behind her and dashed in the direction of the shed. The ground was nearly completely flooded, and water splashed under her pant legs as she bounded through the giant puddles. Her tennis shoes were soaked.

The shed didn't offer much protection from the rain. It's old roof leaked and dripped on Sora once she walked in. She shivered as the cold-water droplets fell onto her head and slid down her cheek. She clicked her flashlight on and wiped the droplets off her face.

Along with being wet, the air was bitter cold. The idea of having to reach in the freezer for the waffles didn't appeal much to Sora. She sighed and cursed under her breath. Matt **would** do something like this just to spite her.

The lid to the freezer was extremely heavy and it took all her might to open it. She had to place the flashlight in her mouth so she could see what was inside the ancient freezer. The minute she had the lid up, her eyes frantically searched for the waffles. She spied them under some other stuff and reached in to get the box. Her fingers shriveled at the cold, but she managed to yank the box of waffles out and dropped the lid with a heavy thud.

The flashlight in Sora's mouth caught something on top of the freezer. She stared down at the lid in wonder. There were bloody fingerprints where her hand had been. Setting the waffles down, Sora pulled the flashlight out of her mouth and shined the glow onto her left hand.

There was a red liquid on her fingers. She stared at it, confused, and wondered what she had stuck her hand in. She didn't want to wipe it off on her pants, and looked around for something else. The shed was empty, all except for a few tools and the freezer.

Some more drops of water trickled down her face. She passed the flashlight into her left hand, trying to avoid the red, and wiped her face off. As she pulled her hand away, she noticed that her fingers on her right hand were now red.

"What the…?" she muttered. Looking up, she shined the flashlight to the roof of the shed.

Sora screamed.


	2. Unbelievable

Chapter 2 

: : 7:46 AM Tuesday : :

Sora's scream died into a repulsed groan. She felt another drop of blood land on the side of her face and slide close to her mouth. Making a disgusted face, she tried to wipe the blood off of her face and hands. How did this happen?

Sora backed against the shed door, dropping the box of waffles. She slid down the door and tried to pull her eyes away, yet couldn't. Several more drops of blood fell, landing near her feet. Sora could see now the small pool of blood on the ground that hadn't caught her attention when she walked in.

Her shoes were red from stepping in it. Her hands were red, as well as her clothes and most likely her face. She finally managed to drag her eyes from the brutal sight. The rain crashing on the roof almost seemed louder now.

"I feel sick," Sora groaned awfully.

Inside the beach house, curled up in the den nearby the fire, Davis stirred. He was still tired from the night before and frankly didn't care to get up but knew that he'd been bothered by someone else if he didn't.

He sat up and stretched, working out all the kinks. Rubbing his eyes, he peered around the den. Matt had left, as well as Tai and Joe. TK was still asleep on the floor beside the couch. Ken was snuggled up close by with his eyes practically connected to his book. Davis frowned.

"Ken?" he asked thoughtfully hoping for some movement. Ken remained as he was. Davis sighed and said a little louder, "Ken?" Again nothing. Aggravated, Davis shouted, "KEN!"

The other boy jumped and was finally pulled from his book. He stared at Davis displeased and drummed his fingers on the book in his hands. Ken replied with a strict tone in his voice, "What do you want Davis?"

"Good morning to you, too," Davis muttered. He slid off the couch and stretched again. Ken waited impatiently for him to continue. Finally feeling completely awake, Davis turned back to Ken and smiled. "What should we do today?"

" **I'm** going to read," Ken replied and turned his attention back to the book.

"Ah, come on Ken. Ken? Ken?" Davis sighed. Ken was lost in the book already. Sighing, he put his shorts from the day before over his boxers. He yawned and walked through the den door, leaving Ken alone in the room where it was quiet. All except for the occasional snore from TK.

On his way through the dining room, he could hear a faint scream over the rain and buzz of the lights. He paused to listen, but didn't hear anymore and left the dining room. Joe, Tai, and Matt were sitting at the table in the kitchen and Kari was standing at the sink.

"Good morning Davis! Sleep well?" Joe asked, being the one who normally greeted people. Davis shrugged and sat down beside Tai. He noticed that there was any food.

"Um, anything to eat?" Davis asked.

"Yeah. It's in the outside freezer. Sora's getting it," Matt replied, looking up from a magazine he still had in front of him.

Davis frowned. "How long ago did she go?"

"About five minutes." Matt took a sip of his coffee and, like Ken, went back to reading. Davis rolled his eyes. Was he the only one who didn't care much for books and other literature?

Hunger soon overcame him and his stomach growled loudly. Annoyed, he got up from the table and walked to the kitchen door. He slid on some boots and searched for an umbrella. There were none.

'Oh well. My shorts are dirty anyway. I can change and take a shower later." Davis thought and opened the kitchen door. Apparently the others knew what he was doing because no one questioned him, although he did look quite silly with just shorts and giant rubber boots on.

Stepping out the back door, he quickly regretted not having a shirt on. The rain was like little daggers that stung his skin. He shivered and dashed towards the shed. He was shocked when he jerked the shed door open because Sora fell out at his feet.

"Sora! Are you okay?" Davis yelled through the pounding rain. He offered his hand to help her up. She gratefully took it and Davis hauled her back to her feet. Once he did, he noticed her puffy red eyes and some red streaks on her face, as well as red splotches on her clothes and hands. "What's the matter? What happened?"

"Oh Davis!" Sora threw her arms around Davis and hugged him tightly, startling him a little. Davis noticed the deep streaks of dark red in her hair.

He was even more surprised when she went limp in his arms. He then realized that she was crying against his shoulder and completely relying on him for support. 'What happened?' He thought and picked her up in his arms.

She continued to cling to him closely as he carried her back to the kitchen. Walking up the steps was a difficult task, but somehow he managed it. Now he had to face the problem of opening the door without dropping Sora.

Luckily for him, the shutter over the kitchen window was open. So maybe they would see him. His luck ended. Joe and Tai were the only ones sitting at the table now, but they both had their backs to him. Both Kari and Matt had left and Davis could see Ken leaning in the refrigerator, pouring a glass of orange juice.

"Oh Davis…"

Davis looked down at Sora to see that she was staring up at him. She was still crying and her arms clutched him even tighter. His mind swirled as his mind questioned what happened.

The rain hammered onto his bare back and he shivered. 'Please see us Ken! Turn around, dang it!' Making an effort to kick the door caused Davis to nearly loose his balance. With nothing to do other than stand there, Davis prayed that Ken would turn around, or that Joe or Tai would see him out there with Sora.

"Yuck. Pulp. I hate pulp," Ken muttered and closed the fridge door. Her poured the rest of his drink out in the sink and refilled his cup with water. After taking a few sips, he poured the rest out and set the cup in the sink.

'I wonder what's taking Davis so long. When he's hungry, it doesn't take him long to get food.' Ken contemplated. He sighed and turned towards the table where Joe and Tai were.

"The shed isn't that far, is it?" he asked. The two boys were talking about something and didn't hear him. 'Now I know how Davis feels.' Shrugging, Ken began to walk out of the kitchen.

Something by the door caught his eye. He paused to see what it was. Davis stared back at him through the door, mouthing, or possibly screaming, "Let me in!" Gasping, Ken ran to the door and jerked it open.

"It's about time!" Davis shouted once he made it through the door. Joe and Tai shot from their chairs, seeing the evident problem. They helped Davis set Sora down in a chair at the table.

"What happened, Davis?" Tai demanded.

"I don't know! I opened the shed door and-"

"Joe! Go get Matt! Ken, get a wash cloth!" Tai ordered, cutting Davis off in mid-explanation. Joe ran quickly from the room and Ken rushed to the sink. Tai started trying to get Sora to talk to him, not succeeding at all.

Davis tried to move away to get a blanket or something warm but quickly found that Sora had snatched his hand and wasn't letting go. He pulled a chair up beside her and sat down.

Tai was talking in the background. She could hear him talking to her, but his words were so jumbled together. Then a blonde was beside her, trying to get between her and her rescuer. Sora wasn't about to let go of Davis; after all, he'd been there to save her from that awful sight.

Matt was talking to her now. Trying to get her speak, or so she could tell from his words. She suddenly comprehended that the hand she was holding was quivering. Lifting her eyes to look at Davis she noticed for the first time that he didn't have a shirt on. He was freezing. **She** was freezing.

"I'm so cold," Sora murmured, much to the relief of Tai and Matt. They sent TK, who'd awoken when all the commotion started, to get a blanket.

"Get me one too!" Davis said through chattering teeth. He got the unnerving feeling he was being studied and his eyes danced around the room. Sora was staring at him with a blank look of emptiness.

"Thank you Davis," she whispered. Matt and Ken looked at Davis, both raising an eyebrow. Ken frowned and eyed Sora and Davis's hands. He knew something was wrong with Sora, but did Davis have to get **that** close?

"Sora," Matt said. "What happened? What's the matter?"

No reply.

"Are you hurt? Did something scare you?" Tai asked.

No reply.

"Sora please!" Joe, Matt and Tai chorused.

Again no reply.

Davis leaned forward and whispered quietly, "Is that blood on your clothes?"

Sora's eyes turned to horror at the mention of blood. She threw her arms around Davis's neck and began crying again. The other four people in the room watched in wonder, especially Matt and Ken. But they could all hear what Sora was gasping through her tears.

"Yes! Yes! It's Yolei's! Yolei is dead!"

: : 9:04 AM Tuesday : :

Kari hummed to herself as she stepped out of the shower, turning off the water and drying off. The mirror over the sink was fogged from the steam. She rubbed her towel on it to clear an area for her to look in.

She could hear faint shouts coming from what she figured was the kitchen. 'The others must have gotten up.' She thought to herself, not at all taking time to listen to what was being said, not that she could hear it anyway.

After she dried her hair and got dressed Kari left the bathroom. Her dirty clothes were still in the laundry basket in the bathroom, but she didn't feel like taking them to he washing room at the moment. There was time for clothes washing later.

The yells had died down a little, every now and then a frustrated shout cutting through the air. This caught Kari's attention and she wondered what they were talking, or arguing, about. 'I bet it's over who gets the last waffle or something stupid like that.'

But when she pushed through the door and saw the pale faces of the others, Kari suddenly hurried over to the table. Sora was practically in Davis's lap and had her arms draped around his neck. Kari at first couldn't tell if Davis was white because he couldn't breath or something had scared him.

"What's going on?" Kari demanded. No one had the guts to answer to answer her. She turned to Tai. "Tell me! What's happened?"

"Uh, Kari… Sora says that…" Tai stuttered. He looked like he was about to break down into tears.

"Yolei," Ken choked out. The way Ken said that name made Kari shudder.

"What happened to Yolei?" Kari whispered, her voice full of ultimate fear.

"She's dead! Yolei is dead!"

They all looked at Sora as she yelled out. Kari gasped and her legs gave way from under her. Tai caught her and carried her to a chair. Her eyes had glazed over and she turned her head almost dreamily towards Tai.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"We don't, not for sure anyway. But Sora…" Matt said, speaking for them all. His eyes drifted to Sora. Davis was trying to comfort her and both of them were shivering. Matt finally grabbed the blankets from TK and covered his girlfriend and friend. He glanced worryingly at Tai.

Tai gave him the same worried stare. They knew what was on the other's mind: Where did Sora see Yolei? In the shed? Outside on the ground? And how did she get so much blood on her?

"Shh… shh… it's okay," Davis murmured softly, yet he didn't believe his own words. If what Sora had said was true, then nothing was okay. But Yolei couldn't be dead. She just… couldn't be.

"Sora? Can you tell us where you saw Yolei?" Matt touched Sora lightly on the shoulder. She didn't even look up at him. Matt sighed. "Davis, you talk to her."

"Me? Why me?" Davis croaked.

"Because she's only responding to you!" Matt growled angrily. He glared at Davis with a spiteful dislike. "Of all people, too. Now ask her where she saw Yolei so we can make sure that she's telling the truth!"

"What? You don't trust your girlfriend?" Davis spat under his breath, glancing up at Matt to make sure the blonde hadn't heard him. Although, Kari gave him a look that indicated she had. Davis sighed.

"Sora?" Davis whispered softly and pressed her back a little so he could look into her eyes. They were filled with tears and so much ache that it made Davis wince. But the look that Matt was giving him made him continue. "Sora, where did you see Yolei?"

"She was in the shed," Sora whispered. It was so quiet that Davis had to lean in to hear her. Sora's hand on Davis's shoulder gripped tighter and her fingernails dug into his skin. "She was in the rafters…"

"Ahhh, is t-that soooo?" Davis said and reached up to grab her hand. He wrenched it off his shoulder and held it in his own to keep her from hurting him anymore.

Tai and Matt were already out of the room. Ken walked to the door and watched them run around the corner to the shed. Within a few seconds, both boys came running back and Ken jumped out of the way as the dashed back inside.

Matt looked at the group blankly. "There's nothing in the shed but blood. Yolei isn't there."

: : 2:37 PM Tuesday : :

"I'm not crazy. I know I saw her. She's dead."

Sora looked intently at Davis sitting beside her at the dining room table. He glanced up at her for a quick moment and then went back to busying himself with shifting the carpet back and forth.

"Davis, please. You have to believe me!" Sora whispered. Her voice quivered which meant she was on the verge of tears again. "Poor Yolei…"

"Sora stop! Just stop!" Matt shouted. He was leaning in the corner of the dining room and had been looking out the window but Sora consistence was starting to get to him.

"How do you explain the blood?" Sora yelled back.

"Twinkie hurt his paw and retreated to the shed for the night! We've already pointed that out!" Matt growled. Twinkie was his dog. Joe and Tai had run into the room when all the shouting started and now were beside Matt, trying to calm him down.

"Listen Sora, this is what I think happened. You and Kari were talking about what happened to Yolei. You went outside. You saw the blood. Your mind manifested something that wasn't there," Joe stated.

"You think that I saw an illusion?" Sora whispered angrily. She turned back to the innocent Davis, who was trying not to take a part in all of this, and hissed, "We have to get off this island!"

"Sora-" Matt started, but Joe and Tai stopped him. They led Matt out of the room to keep him and Sora from clawing each other's eyes out.

"You believe me, don't you Davis?" Sora murmured. Davis didn't reply and kept his attention on his feet. Sora sighed. Why didn't anyone believe her? She wasn't crazy! And why was Matt, the one who had been so nice to her through everything before, being so mean now?

"Yes."

At the sound of a feeble whisper, Sora looked up. Davis was staring at her now and had stopped his squirming. His eyes danced in the light and Sora felt a flicker of hope. Her face brightened a little.

"Yes," Davis repeated. "I do."

"But why? I know I shouldn't question your trust, but no one else…" Sora wanted to cry again. If Davis believed her then he was the only one.

"I saw," Davis choked. "I s-saw a hand when I opened the door, r-right before you fell at my f-feet. And last night… I-I looked out the window… I thought it was a-a dream… someone was c-carrying something l-large and there… was s-so much red on their s-shirt…"

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I know this is getting long, but hey, I'm trying.


	3. Losing Sanity

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My sincere apology at how long this is getting… I don't own digimon either so don't sue! I know it took me a while to get this part out, BUT no one is reading it, so who cares? I've had five reviews on this and it's making me mad. This is one of the few fics I kind of like, but then I love horror fics so maybe that's why. Anyhow, please read on and review your opinion. It would be appreciated greatly. And Sora is kind of a jerk at first in this chapter…

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: : 7:30 PM Tuesday : :

"Yeah, well, I don't care about Matt at the moment. He's being a jerk," Sora mumbled to Joe. He looked up at her, but said nothing. She sighed and leaned back in the chair, allowing Joe to continue with his medical homework. At the beginning of the week she had been making fun of him for bringing it along, but now she wished she'd brought her math or English. It would keep her mind off of Yolei and the fact that absolutely no one believed her except Davis. And where'd she get with only Davis believing her? No one ever believed anything he ever said anyway! 'They must think that I'm descending to his level…'

"You wouldn't happen to have an egg beater in your bag somewhere, would you Joe?"

Joe and Sora both glanced at the door to see Kari standing there. She avoided Sora's gaze, fidgeting under the older girl's stare, and tried to keep her attention locked on Joe. He shook his head and went back to his work. Kari frowned and left quickly. She didn't like the way Sora was studying her, as if the red head were trying to find a reason to gripe at her. Sora had become quite snappy in the past few hours.

"And her," Sora started as soon as Kari left hastily. "What's with the whole 'I'm so innocent' act? How do we know **she's** not out to kill someone? Didn't she have that argument with Yolei last night? Maybe that 'innocent' exterior is just a trick."

Joe dropped his pencil, or somewhat slammed it onto the table. He stared at Sora and closed his eyes to keep from exploding. "Stop it Sora. Stop it now. You can't just accuse your friends of things that didn't…"

Sora glared at him. "Didn't what? Happen?"

"Yes Sora! That didn't happen!" Joe burst out. "Matt's right! You're acting like a child! **And** you're getting on my nerves! Just stop it! Yolei is not dead so quit with this charade!"

Sora glared at Joe. She pushed her chair back and stormed out of the room. What did he know anyway? She knew what she saw. She'd cried for a long time. And no one cared. None of the others, excluding Davis, believed that someone on that very island had murdered Yolei. The only thought that passed through their minds was that Yolei was missing, but not dead.

Davis was sitting with Ken on one of the couches when Sora stormed in. He immediately sighed inwardly, giving Ken an annoyed expression. Ken shrugged and Sora plopped down right in between them. She folded her arms and stared straight forward. Ken raised an eyebrow and glanced around her to look at Davis. Sora glared at him, her eyes freezing him on spot. Ken shivered under the glare she was giving him.

"Go away. I need to speak with Davis," she growled. Ken hesitated, not wanting to leave Davis to Sora's wrath, but Davis nodded and he leapt off the couch. As soon as Ken was out of the way, Sora spun back around to Davis. "I have an idea. But we can't trust anyone. Not even Ken. Okay?"

"But Sora…"

"But nothing! Ken could be the murderer for all you know!" Sora whispered harshly. Davis flinched and looked away.

"He would never do that. Ken wouldn't hurt anybody," Davis said softly.

"Davis! He used to be the Digimon Emperor! What makes you think that he didn't just change back?" Sora's glower burned through Davis, keeping him from defending Ken. He hung his head and stared at the fire nearby. Sora sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Davis, I'm sorry. I know that I've been kind of annoying these past few hours, but-"

"Kind of?" Davis snorted.

Sora smiled. "Okay, okay. Really annoying, but I saw… Yolei…"

She choked back the sobs that threatened to come up. Davis put a comforting arm around her. He did trust Sora, but at the same time he was beginning to wonder. Everyone else said Sora was loosing it, except Matt, of course, because he loved her. Or so he said. Davis had the feeling that Matt doubted her more than anyone else.

: : 2:30 AM Wednesday : :

A loud crack of thunder made Davis sit up with a start. He shivered, realizing he'd kicked all the blankets off of himself, again. He reached down to the floor beside the couch and felt around for them. His hand bumped against the side table and his shoes but nothing else. He groaned and sat up. Now looking around the den he could see that both Ken and Tai were gone. Ken's blankets welcomed him from the other side of the couch and he quickly snatched them up and wrapped them around his body.

Shivering, Davis whispered to himself, "It's so cold! I'm freezing!"

Someone else in the den, which he guessed was TK, mumbled incoherently. Davis smiled and snuggled back into the couch, but halted when he heard a cracking noise. He paused and listened harder and the loud cracking noise sounded again. 'Maybe that's Ken, or Tai. I wonder what they're doing up so late at night.' He waited for it to sound again, but the den was so silent the sound of dreams could almost be heard.

Sliding off of the couch Davis walked cautiously to the window, avoiding the two bodies on the ground that were TK and Joe. He put his hands on the cold windowsill and looked outside. Raindrops slid down the window, but with flash of the lighthouse he could see someone walking towards the lighthouse. He gasped, recognizing the person and spun around, moving back to Matt on the other couch. He shook the blonde digidestined, but Matt moaned and pushed Davis lazily away from him.

"Matt! Please wake up!" Davis murmured.

Matt didn't respond with anything other than a simple twitch of the eye. Davis sighed and quietly walked back to the window. There was no one outside anymore, or at least that Davis could see. Something was different though. It seemed so dark. 'The lighthouse isn't on anymore…' Davis gasped. He waited for it to flash, but the light never came around. He stood by the den window a long time before being convinced completely that the light was off. That or broken.

"I wonder…" Davis whispered to himself. He stepped away from the window, over TK's unconscious body, and quietly into the mudroom. Deep down inside a voice told him not to go outside alone, and he hesitated, but the urge to find out why his friend had been walking to the lighthouse in the middle of the night and why the lighthouse wasn't flashing anymore suppressed that little voice and he quickly slid on his rain boats and coat. "I shouldn't be listening to voices in my head anyway. That was always a problem before."

Davis looked beside the door for an umbrella, but they were all gone. 'It's not raining hard anyway, if at all.' He thought and opened the mudroom door. The rain was only coming down in a light sprinkle. 'I'm beginning to think I have really good luck.' Davis silently walked onto the concrete steps and closed the door behind him. He tugged the coat tighter around his body and started towards the lighthouse.

About half way there, Davis got the abrupt sense he was being followed. He spun around and searched the parts of the island he could see, happening to not be very much. The moon was being covered by the storm clouds and it was almost pitch black outside. The hairs on the back of Davis's neck rose and he shivered. Hastily, he turned and started to rush to the lighthouse. He was closer to it now than the beach house.

Davis made it to the lighthouse door and spun around, making sure once more that there was no one there. The beach house looked so far away now. He wished Ken would show up soon, thinking maybe that his clever friend could protect him from the creeping darkness. Davis reached behind him and searched for the doorknob. His hand brushed against it and he quickly spun around and opened the door. As soon as he was inside, he locked the door and slid down it, trembling with fear.

After sitting there for a few minutes, Davis got the courage to stand and look around the lighthouse. It was darker than outside, but a faint light came from somewhere nearby. 'There must be one on the stairs that lead to the light.' Still trembling, Davis tiptoed to the stairs, his heart beating and the feeling of terror spreading through him. His stomach turned over with nervous butterflies.

A soft growl made Davis stop dead in his tracks. He breath came faster and he turned around slowly. Two glowing green eyes glared at him through the darkness. He sighed as Matt's dog recognized him and trotted over, rubbing his big gold head against Davis's side. Davis patted the dog lightly on the head, only to find that there was something sticky and warm on it. He held his hand in front of his face to see a deep red smear across it.

"Oh… ick…" Davis groaned as he remembered that Twinkie had gotten hurt. Now he had the dog's blood all over his hand. 'But it's warm… I wonder if he's bleeding again. What can I wipe this off with?'

Davis decided on the wall, leaving a crimson handprint down the side on its white paint, and once more walked warily up the stairs. He came to the top where a small lamp was on the ledge right beside the staircase. He reached beside it where a light switch was and flicked it on. The top of the lighthouse was filled with a dim light, but it made Davis feel better.

He walked to where there was a large lever on the wall and, guessing that it was what started the large bulb, he began to jerk on it. It was a lot harder than he'd guessed and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't pull it down. He sighed and leaned against the railing that prevented people from pressing against the glass, then dropped to the floor.

The lights above him flickered and went out. The small lamp that he'd left beside the light switch too dimmed and went out. Davis's heart stated beating faster again and his breath came in short, quick gasps. He heard the sound of Twinkie trotting towards him and the dog's big head poked up from the staircase. The green eyes turned in his direction and Twinkie licked his lips. Davis closed his eyes and wished that this was all a dream, but when reopened his eyes everything was still as it had been.

'Frith, the things I get myself into!' Davis complained in his mind. He scrambled to his feet when Twinkie started walking towards him. The sound of Twinkie's nails clicking on the ground made him even more nervous, but a loud crack behind him made him jump six feet in the air. 'Great job Davis! Leaving in the middle of the night with no one to help you! Oh, where is Ken?'

Davis couldn't take this anymore. He walked slowly, after each step pausing for a little while before taking the next, to the other side of the lighthouse. A loud creaking noise came from behind him and he spun around only to be blinded by the lighthouse as the large bulb flashed his way. He yelped and suddenly all the lights were on. Terror speared through Davis and he started running. A horrified expression crossed his face when he came across a mutilated body in a pool of blood. He couldn't stop himself in time and he slipped. His feet flew into the air and fell onto his back, knocking the air out of him.

Davis rolled over, gasping, and came face to face with Ta's bloody horrified expression. Repulsed, Davis closed his eyes and rolled back over. He stomach churned, threatening to throw up. The large bulb flashed around and a few seconds later it flashed again. Now completely covered in warm, sticky blood, Davis tried to get to his feet. He knew he wasn't alone anymore, or that he'd ever been.

Davis slid in the blood as he tried to get away from Tai's dead body. His adrenaline was running high, along with his fear, and he made it back to the staircase in only a few seconds. He shot down them into the darkness of the bottom half of the lighthouse. He skidded to a stop when the big golden retriever got to its feet in front of his only way out. It licked its chops again and in Davis's fearful imagination, he swore he saw the dog sneer at him. 'Why is this happening to me?! I want to go home! I want to go home!'

"Twinkie…" Davis whispered. His voice cracked. "Please move out of the way of the door. Please, Twinkie. I need to get out. Come on, boy. Move. Twinkie…"

The dog stared at him. Davis took a deep breath and stepped towards Twinkie, but froze again when the dog growled at him. He stood still, eye to eye, with the dog for a long time before trying to take another step. Twinkie again snarled a warning at him. 'I'm going to die. Whoever killed Tai is going to come out of the darkness and kill me too. Why wont this dog move?'

: : 7:30 AM Wednesday : :

Matt slammed his hand down on the alarm clock as it went off. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He looked around the den, now lit up as the sunshine poured through its large windows. Tai, Ken, and Davis were gone. Bewildered, Matt got off the couch and looked around. Joe and TK were still asleep on the ground. Matt stepped over them and headed for the kitchen. He had to admit that it was surprising that Davis and Tai were up. 'I suppose Ken accidentally woke them up, too.'

But as he walked through the dining room and pushed the kitchen door open, he was only greeted with silence. Now even more confused that before, he walked to the side door and looked through its window. It had stopped raining outside and the sun was shining brightly. Matt shrugged and walked to the bedroom door where the girls were. He tapped on it lightly to make sure no one was indecent before opening it quietly.

Sora was curled up on the bed. Her dim red hair fell lightly across her face, making Matt smile. He'd had time to sleep off his anger with her. 'She looks so peaceful…' Matt thought and crept to the bedside. He titled over and kissed Sora gently on the cheek. Sora sighed contentedly and stretched, waking up. Her eyes flittered open and she smiled at Matt.

"Hey," he murmured softly.

"Hey," she replied just as softly. She stretched again and sat up. "Are you the only one up?"

"Other than you?" Matt asked. Sora nodded. "No. Tai, Davis, and Ken are somewhere. I haven't found them yet."

Sora frowned. "Where do you think they went?"

"I don't know," Matt shrugged. He caught the worried look on Sora's face and cupped her cheek in his hand. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure they're fine."

"I… I know. It's just… I… you didn't… you didn't see her… you feel the blood dripping on your face," Sora choked out. Tears began to sparkle in her eyes and Matt wrapped his arms around her. She shuddered against him. "And the notes…"

"Sora, don't cry, don't cry. We'll find Yolei. Don't worry about it. We'll find her, and the others," Matt whispered.

"No, we wont. She's dead, Matt. Please believe me. Please," Sora pushed him away, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Please."

The look on Sora's face made Matt flinch. He hated to see her in so much pain and pulled her back into a hug. "Okay. Okay, Sora. I believe you, but only if you promise not to accuse anyone. Joe told me about last night."

"I promise," Sora murmured.

A soft knock on the door made the two pull away and Joe walked in. He glanced about the room, as if searching for something. "Where are Tai and the other two?"

"We don't know," Matt replied, frowning. "Actually I was kind of hoping they might have told you or TK something."

"Nope. TK says he doesn't know where they are either," Joe said. He sighed and shrugged. Sora leaned back on Matt and buried her face in his shoulder, trying to not cry. Joe walked over and gently touched her on the back. "Sora, we'll give them a while and if they don't show up, we'll go looking for them. Okay?"

Sora nodded. "Alright."

: : 10:30 AM Wednesday : :

Haven't you begun to wonder? Doesn't it bother you to know that you are losing? That your friends don't believe you? Time is ticking away. The hourglass is running low. What to do, what to do? Scared yet? Of course. You were scared before. Tensions are on the rise now. You've been watching your friends. Blaming them. I've already got you turned on all of them, and them on you. Good, aren't I? A mastermind. To really accomplish anything we must speed this process up; remove from the equation everyone else who is in the way. I've shown you my power, so why do you yet cower? Give in. I can rid you of your problems. I can rid you of your useless friends. Of Yamato. Of everything. I'll have to kill you if you refuse. I'll have to kill you all.

Sora dropped the folded note in her hand, letting it fall to the floor. She leaned against the doorframe and closed her eyes. _I'll have to kill you all._ The last sentence on the note made a pain spread through her body. No one could deny it now. No one could deny that someone had killed Yolei. She had hoped to get away from the taunting notes, but it just wasn't possible.

'Whoever this is said they were watching me; that they'd been around me forever…' Sora thought. She cringed at the thought that it could be one of her friends. After all, they'd gone through so much together. They'd fought side by side against the Dark Masters and other enemies. Who would do such a thing? Why would they do such a thing?

Sora realized she was crying and wiped her tears away. She took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. Joe and Matt were getting ready to search for Davis, Tai, and Ken. She was glad they were leaving, but it also left her without someone to talk to. TK and Kari had been avoiding her like the plague since she'd mentally broke down. Essentially, TK had tried to talk to her, but Kari pulled him away.

"Sora, we'll be back as soon as we can," Matt said. He gave her a hug and went outside where Joe was waiting beside the steps. It had stopped raining and the sun was shining brightly, but the air was still blistering cold. Sora watched Matt and Joe walk away through the glass of the door.

"You want some hot cocoa?"

Sora turned around and stared at Kari. "Sure."

Kari nodded and went back to what she was doing. Sora heard a deep sigh come form the younger girl. Kari turned back around, looking at the ground. "Listen, I'm really sorry for the way I've been acting Sora. I just… I believed you yesterday when you said you saw Yolei, but I didn't want to say anything. I'm sorry."

"It's okay Kari. I understand. You don't want the others to think you're crazy, too," Sora said softly. She looked back out the door window. "I just hope they find the others."

Joe hugged the coat tighter around his body. He and Matt had searched the edge of the forest, all around the house, and now were walking along side the beach. Tai, Davis, and Ken were nowhere to be found. Plus, the ground was slippery and his feet were sinking in its deep mud. 'Frith, I hope we find the others soon so we can go home. Izzy and Mimi should come back today.'

Matt was fairly warm. The only thing bothering him, other than his girlfriend's hysteria and his friends were missing, was that his feet were wet. He couldn't find any boots and had to where tennis shoes, which, when you are walking in a foot deep mud, are not helpful at all.

He and Joe only had a few more places to search: the lighthouse and down by the peer. Joe wished Matt's dog was around because it would make things easier on them, but Matt said Twinkie must have gone off with Tai and the others. They were approaching the lighthouse now. There were footprints in the mud leading from the house, but not going back.

"I bet if we had just left out that door this wouldn't have taken so long," Matt said. He and Joe laughed a bit and walked to the lighthouse door.

The door in front of Davis opened with a loud creak and light flooded in. He trembled in the corner and watched as Twinkie got to his feet and trotted to the blonde standing in the doorway. Davis stayed where he was, eyes blinking against the light. He shrank into the corner where he'd been awake all night. He had a headache and there was dried blood all over him.

Matt rubbed his dog behind the ears and stepped into the lighthouse. "Hello? Taichi? Davis? Ken? Hello?"

"I don't see anyone Matt," Joe said, stepping in behind him.

Matt frowned. "Neither do I. Maybe they came up here and left again. I'll kill Tai for locking my dog in… do you hear that Joe?"

Joe shook his head. "No. What is it?"

"Shh…" Matt whispered. He listened harder to the silence, then shook his head. "I could have sworn I heard something. Maybe the others are up top and can't hear us."

Matt started heading for the stairs, Twinkie trotting beside him. The large dog stopped when it passed Davis in the dark corner and growled deep in its throat. Matt and Joe paused and looked in the direction Twinkie was facing. Joe could just barely make out a hunched figure in the corner with spiky hair.

"Davis? Is that you?" Joe asked. Two nervous eyes turned up at him. "Davis?"

"Tai…"

The whisper was soft, but Joe knew it was Davis. He hurriedly walked over to the younger boy and offered his hand to help Davis up. "Come on, Davis. Take my hand."

"Who are you?" Davis whispered. He stared at the tall figure standing over him. He couldn't seem to place the person. The person reached down to touch him and he abruptly slapped the hand away, getting more frantic. "No! Don't touch me! Don't touch me! I don't want to die! Don't touch me! Get away from me! Don't touch me! Don't touch me!"

Davis leapt to his feet and made a run for the door, but felt the taller guy grabbed him around the waist and held onto him. He screamed and flung his arms wildly, making it harder for the guy to hold onto him. Joe tried to grab Davis's flailing arms, but the boy was screaming bloody murder and fighting for his life.

"Matt!" Joe shouted. "Help me!"

Matt rushed over and grabbed Davis's arms. He fought to hold on to them as Joe fought to keep Davis from running off. He was also trying to dodge Davis's legs and all the kicks that he was shooting. This was quite hard and Matt ended up getting kicked quite a bit in the leg and other such places. He winced in pain.

"That's it!" Matt growled. He stepped back and punched Davis in the face.

Davis froze at his stinging eye. He began to cry. "Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I want to go home! I want to go home! Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"

Joe felt Davis go limp and helped the boy drop to the floor. He laid Davis down on his back and shook the wine-haired digidestined lightly. "Davis, come on. Snap out of this! Davis! It's me! Joe!"

"Joe?" Davis said quietly, as if he realized whom it was talking to him. His eyes glazed over with recognition for a minute, but then they went back to their lost, petrified state. He curled up in a ball on the floor and cried, whispering the same thing over and over. "Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me."

Joe looked worriedly up at Matt. The blonde had the same worried expression on his face. Joe looked back at Davis and placed his hand on Davis's head and found what he knew would have been. Davis had a high fever. Joe brushed the wine strands from his face.

"Matt, he's really sick. I need to get him back to the house and get him some medicine," Joe said. Matt frowned and nodded.

"But what about Ken and Tai?" he asked.

"Um… I don't think there's anyone else down here, although what about upstairs?" Joe suggested.

"Okay," Matt turned and quickly hopped up the stairs to the top of the lighthouse. A minute later he was slowly walking back down, pale faced and a horrified expression. He turned icy blue eyes to Joe. "Tai… Tai's… dead… Tai's… dead. He's dead. Tai's dead."

Joe stared at Matt and gulped. He closed his eyes to hold back the tears that were forming and then reopened them to see that Matt was still staring at him with the same varnished look. "We need to get back to the beach house. Matt, please. Do go crazy on me, too. Keep your head straight. Are you sure Tai's dead?"

"He's dead," Matt whispered.

"Matt, listen to me. Listen to my voice. You can't go into shock. You have to stay strong. Now tell me, how do you know?" Joe said sternly. Frankly, he wanted to burst into tears but he knew he couldn't let the distress take over or they'd all be doomed. "Clear your head Yamato Ishida."

Matt nodded. "He's been cut up. Real bad. He's been dead for a while."

Joe winced. "We have to get out of here."

: : 12:00 Noon Wednesday : :

TK caressed Davis's face lightly. "Oh Davis. What's going on?"

His wine-haired friend breathed deeply in response. Joe had given Davis some sort of medicine to put the boy asleep. He then proceeded to give Davis some painkillers and more medicine for his fever. TK had gotten a warm, wet rag and laid it across his friend's forehead. Now Davis was sleeping somewhat peacefully.

Joe said that if Davis found Tai and was trapped in the lighthouse, he was probably awake the whole night and went into shock, thus giving himself a fever and going crazy. Matt had also gone into some shock, but Joe and Sora had managed to keep him from going off the deep end. Kari went to the den and had been crying for the past hour. Now no one could deny that people were being killed.

TK tried to use the radio to get contact with the main island, but someone had cut the cords. Since there was nothing else to do but sit and wait, he sat with Davis. 'Poor Davis… Poor Tai… Poor Yolei…'

The remaining teenagers had come to a conclusion that Ken was behind the murders. They had two main reasons: 1. Davis kept murmuring, "Please don't kill me… Ken… No! Ken, no don't… Please don't kill me…" So the others figured Ken just couldn't kill Davis since he'd become so attached to the goggle boy. And: 2. Ken was missing, which also meant he could be dead, but they believed Ken went crazy like he'd done before when he was the Digimon Emperor.

"Davis, what's going on? What's going on?" TK whispered again. He sighed and laid his head against the bed beside Davis.

"TK?"

TK sat back up and glanced over his shoulder. "Hey Joe."

"Has he woken up yet?" Joe asked softly.

"No. He repeats the same things over quite a bit, though. Over and over and over and over…" TK felt his voice catch in his throat. He buried his face in the sheets of the bed. "Tai's dead, Joe. He's really dead. And Yolei… They're not coming back. And Davis is losing his mental stability… What if we're next?"

Joe stood and watched TK cry quietly against the bed sheets. He sighed and walked out of the room once more. He was alone in the kitchen. Sora was sitting in the dining room with Matt and Kari was still in the den. He sighed and sat down at the table. There was a coffee mug on the table that was Kari's form the morning. He stared at it, contemplating things in his mind.

: : At the mainland : :

Izzy let the warm sun shine on his face. He had his eyes closed and was sitting on a bench beside the docks. Mimi was sitting beside him, doing her nails. They were waiting for the next ferry to come back so they could get a ride to the island. The two of them were upset that they'd missed two days with their friends, but between shopping and meeting new people, or playing online and buying new computer stuff, the two of them had had a good time on the main island.

A guy that worked at the docks walked over to the two. He tipped his hat at Mimi and turned to Izzy. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted to get back to your friends today, but the ferry scraped bottom in the canal over at Namsuic because a lot of loose soil and clay washed into the canal during the storm. It will take a while to get out, and then we'll have to patch any holes. This might take a few more days."

Mimi groaned and Izzy sighed. He nodded and the guy walked off. "Well, Mimi, I guess we are going to have to find more stuff to do."

***************

Well? What do you think? Scary enough? I know! I know! I killed Taichi!!! What's wrong with me?? (Nah, I'm not too worried about killing Yolei, and Ken is not officially dead yet. Of course that's because he's the… Oh wait, never mind. Don't want to ruin the end! HAHAHA!!!) And my poor, lovable Dai-chan has lost his wits… Okay, he never had wits, but he lost his sanity. That's a better way to describe it. Please Read and Review!

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	4. Time to Die

This chapter contains serious murder. Not completely describing the murders, so if you have a weak stomach it wouldn't bother you. Beginning of the chapter is horribly slow, but towards the end is where the real horror starts. And the murderer is acknowledged in this chapter. Only one more chapter after this! If you do get bored in this chapter, then skip to the end! REVIEW!

**Disclaimer**: I do not, nor will I ever, own Digimon.

: : 6:00 PM Wednesday : :

TK closed the door to the bedroom quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping Davis. He'd been sitting in the room for over six hours and through out this time Davis had only awoken once. TK had been ecstatic and called Joe back into the room. But Davis simply stared at them blankly. His eyes were empty and it seemed like he was lost from the world completely. Joe said that maybe the sedatives were still in gear. It worried TK so much.

Davis was his best friend. It was kind of a Matt/Tai relationship where they hated each other at first but grew into great friends. He was one of the few people who stuck by Davis when it was announced that Davis wasn't in love with Kari but someone else… Without his silly friend, TK didn't know what to do. He hated Ken at the moment. How could Ken betray everyone like that? Betray Davis?

Sora pointed out something important. She said that Davis wasn't dead, so maybe Ken couldn't force himself to kill the now mentally ill boy. Sure destroying his mind was fine, but killing was a bit too far. TK had to agree with her. Yet Matt had brought up another point. Maybe Ken was going to kill Davis, like he was killing them off in an order and the night before wasn't Davis's time. Then Davis had found everything out so he scared Davis to the point of insanity so he couldn't reveal everything. TK had to agree with that, too.

It didn't matter which way Ken was doing everything. TK wanted to rip him apart. He'd killed Yolei and Tai. The remaining group each had a nag in the back of their minds that screamed, "How could you have not known this was going to happen?! The guy was the Digimon Emperor! You should have been expecting this!"

Fairly annoyed, TK stalked into the den where everyone else was. Matt and Sora were cuddled up on the couch, Sora sleeping somewhat soundly, and Kari was on the other couch staring blankly at the fire. Joe was standing by one of the windows gazing across the darkening beach, just as blank as Kari. TK choose him to stand by. He cautiously walked over to Joe and too peered out the window. He wanted to ask about Tai, about what had happened, but he knew that it'd be years before such things could be discussed.

"Mimi and Izzy should have come back today. The skies are clear," Joe said quietly. "You don't suppose they ran into… trouble?"

"He wouldn't kill them in broad daylight would he?" TK responded.

"I don't know. But if he's going in an order like Matt suggested, then they might not have been farther down the line and them getting here ruined that order," Joe muttered with a slight scowl. He turned and placed both hands on the windowsill, leaning forward and glaring steadfastly outside. "What if he met up with them at the peer and told them to head up while he finished doing something. At which that point in time he told the captain of the ferry not to come back till Friday, or possibly even later than that. Then he killed Mimi and Izzy when the ferry left."

TK nodded at the probable situation. "That's likely."

"If Ken so much as shows his face," Joe growled, "I'll slaughter him."

TK glanced at Joe for a brief moment. He'd never seen the older boy act with so much vengeance and hate before. But then, three of their close friends had never been killed before. TK considered Davis dead now. The goggle boy wasn't dead physically, but mentally… TK was jerked from his thoughts when he noticed Joe clenching the windowsill, his fingernails digging into the old wood.

"What is it?" he asked, leaning around to look out the window better.

"I'm going to kill Ken," Joe snarled just above a whisper.

"We can't be sure it's Ken."

Both boys spun around to see Kari standing behind them. She stepped between the two and looked out the window at the sun setting. "How do we know it is Ken?"

"Who else could it be?" TK asked. "Tai and Yolei are… And Davis isn't going to ever be… That brings everything down to Ken. He's missing and… well, you heard what Davis was saying when they brought him in… Who else could it be?"

"How do we know Ken isn't dead?" Kari snapped. "Davis is mentally ill. We can't trust everything that comes out of his mouth." She turned to TK and stared at him sadly. "We can't accuse our friends. We can't. I know that Ken used to be the Digimon Emperor and he killed tons of digimon, but he's changed. You both know that. Don't you think if he wanted to kill us he would have done it sooner?"

"That could be his plan. To build up our trust, then slaughter us like dogs," Joe retorted. "I don't trust him. I never did. After the way he hurt Gomamon… I'll kill him for this."

TK and Kari stared at Joe uneasily. They swapped unsure glances, both with the same thing running through their mind: Joe holds deep grudges so never get him miffed. The three stood silently, all trying to organize their thoughts. Just as Kari opened her mouth to speak, something large suddenly appeared in the window. The trio screamed and jumped back.

Joe gave an exasperated groan. "I really hate that dog."

Twinkie was staring at them through the window. He licked his chops before disappearing from the window. TK stepped back to the window and looked out it to see the big dog trotting away. Joe did the same and snorted disapprovingly. He folded his arms and shook his head. "That dog is more trouble than it is good."

"Hey, that dog probably kept Davis alive last night," Matt said from the couch.

"Let's not get in a fight over a dog," Kari said quickly before the two boys could start feuding. An uncomfortable silence settled in the room. It became unbearable for Kari since she was trying to keep her mind off of her dead brother and the silence wasn't helping her in anyway. Swallowing nervously Kari began heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" TK asked instantly.

"To check on Davis," she replied.

"I'll go with you."

The two left the den and quietly walked through the dining room and kitchen into the bedroom. Davis was still curled up in a little ball like a child and sleeping somewhat soundly. Kari went straight to his bedside and smoothed his messy hair sympathetically. She couldn't pull her eyes away from Davis. She'd been praying that someone would save them and get Davis to a real doctor in a hospital somewhere. Not that she didn't trust Joe, but… she didn't trust Joe. Personally, she was getting really nervous at having TK standing behind her. She didn't trust anyone anymore.

"I hope it isn't Ken," TK said, breaking the still air.

"I do, too," Kari whispered. She gently sat on the edge of the bed beside Davis and continued to run her fingers lightly through the disheveled hair.

Davis stirred and rolled onto his back. His eyes opened slowly and for a minute Kari thought she saw recognition in them, but then the immediately went back to the wild unknown as Davis fell back asleep. Kari sighed and looked up at TK, who was still standing by the door, deep in thought.

"What did Joe give him? He's been out for hours…" Kari murmured. TK didn't respond. He wasn't even looking at her. Kari left Davis's side and moved to TK's. She gently touched him on the arm. "TK?"

"Hm? I'm sorry. I was thinking about something," TK said, shaking his head slightly to clear his mind. "Did you ask me a question?"

Kari nodded. "Yeah, but never mind it. What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing. It's not important," TK muttered. He sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "Why is this happening to us? What did we do to deserve this? We saved two worlds for crying out loud! Why is this happening?"

Kari wrapped her arms around the irate blonde and hugged him tightly. "I wish I knew…"

: : 11:46 PM Wednesday : :

Joe rolled back and forth, not able to find a comfortable position. Everyone had decided to sleep in the bedroom with Davis so that nothing would happen. He still had the horrible feeling that something would and couldn't sleep knowing that two, possibly three, of his friends were dead. Despite his cruel words from earlier, Joe did worry for Ken. He hoped the younger boy wasn't the one behind everything. And even though he hadn't told any of the others yet, Davis may not make it through the next day. Joe didn't have the right medicine to give him, nor did he have the skills.

"Can't sleep?"

The voice was Matt's. Joe rolled over and looked at the blonde. "No."

"Thinking?"

"Yeah."

Matt nodded and sighed. He fought tears springing to his eyes and sniffed quietly. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Tai's mutilated body… laying in a pool of blood… his face twisted in horror… Matt shivered remembering it. If they made it off the island alive, he was going to have to have some serious therapy. And how were they going to explain this to everyone else? A piece of him wished it were just a cruel joke, but the rest of him knew it wasn't.

A squeak made Joe and Matt sit up startled. They exchanged frightened glances and gazed around the moonlit room. A small whimper came from the bed where Davis was sleeping. Joe instantly got to his feet and walked to the sleeping boy's side. Davis was tossing back and forth and murmuring things in his sleep. He was covered in sweat despite the cool air and was gasping for breath.

"Davis? Davis, wake up. Come on Davis," Joe whispered harshly. He grabbed the younger boy's shoulders and gave him a shake. Davis's eyes flew open and he shot to the other side of the bed, away from Joe. As calmly as he could, Joe outstretched his hand and beckoned Davis back to him. "Shh, it's okay. It's okay. Come here Davis. It's okay…"

By this time Matt had already risen to his feet and was watching Davis and Joe steadily. He felt so sorry for Davis, especially when he saw the terrified look in his eyes. Every time Matt peered into those eyes, Tai's equally terrified ones popped into his mind. He painfully looked away. _It must be tearing Kari up inside…_

"No! Davis! Come back!"

Matt's head snapped back up just in time to see Davis bolting off the bed and out of the room. Joe gave a growl of annoyance and took off after him. Hesitating, Matt searched the room for his jacket, spotting it on the back of a chair. He needed to help Joe but at the same time he didn't want to leave TK, Kari, and Sora alone. If he were to lose TK… Shaking his head, Matt decided that his little brother would be fine, and quickly grabbed his jacket and scrambled after Joe and Davis.

The kitchen door was standing wide open when he got in there. He heard Joe scream for Davis and could tell they were pretty far off. Nervously, Matt ran out of the kitchen and looked around. The winter wind whipped around his shoulders and he quickly tugged his jacket on. Shivering, he searched for Joe or Davis in the blackness of the night. The moon had disappeared behind some clouds, making it even harder to see.

"Joe! Where are you? Joe?" Matt shouted. He closed the door to the kitchen and started to walk down the steps. The only sound other than his feet squishing in the still wet mud was the whistle of the wind. There were a few foot prints in the mud heading towards the small forest on the islands. Matt groaned before muttering, "Great. They decided to disappear in the Wonder Woods."

He started in that general direction with a sigh. After a few steps, he began to get nervous. _I'm all alone out here. Everyone else has been killed at night… Where's Joe? Shouldn't I be able to hear him calling for Davis? Didn't he hear me calling for him? What if this is a trap? What if Joe is trying to draw me out here…_ Matt stopped walked and looked around nervously. _No. Don't do this to yourself Ishida. Don't panic. You can't get afraid. Think clearly._

With a few more encouraging thoughts, Matt began to walk again, this time with a quickened pace. He came to the tree line and swallowed nervously. _Okay, I'm thinking clearly and I think I want to go back inside the house…_ Matt agreed with his thoughts and spun around. He began running back to the house.

A shrill howl of pain stopped him. Matt spun around, his breath coming quickly and eyes hysterically scanning every place about him. He tucked his arms around his body tightly and opened his mouth so he could breathe easier. At the moment, his adrenaline was skyrocketing. At least his nervousness was making him warmer.

"Joe?" he whispered, not even loud enough for him to hear.

Matt continued to face the same direction, but stepped back slowly. Every whistle of the wind, rustle of leaves, crack of breaking limbs, creak of the old house, and splash of waves hitting the shore on the beach made him sweat even more with nervousness. His imagination started to run away and his mind created images and shadows that weren't really there.

Then he bumped into someone.

Matt spun around screaming. He stumbled and fell backwards into the mud. His heart was practically slamming against his rib cage. After a few moments, he slowly began to pull down his arms, which he'd put up over his face protectively when he crashed to the ground, and gazed up at his 'attacker.' He heaved a sigh of relief and got to his feet.

"Oh Davis. I'm so glad it's you," Matt breathed. Davis stared at him blankly. He allowed Matt to cling to his arm and be pulled back to the house. Matt was glad to have someone with him, even if it was the mentally ill Davis, and began to talk absentmindedly. "I don't know where Joe has gone to, but I'm sure he's somewhere near by. I figure that he'll give up on his search for you and head back to the house. We should stay awake for him when he gets back. Or I will. You can go back to sleep. I hope we didn't wake anybody up with are screaming and moving about."

Davis murmured something. They paused in front of the steps leading to the kitchen door and Matt looked at Davis curiously. Davis slowly looked back at Matt, his eyes full of a calm, eerie fright. "What may be may be just a ruse."

"What?" Matt asked. For a moment, he thought he saw a flash of sanity on Davis's face. He swallowed the uneasy feeling rising in his throat and hesitantly began up the stairs to the kitchen door. He took Davis's hand and pulled the boy along with him. "I don't know why I'm talking to you. You can't understand a single thing I'm saying. But that's okay. It's nice to talk to someone without them responding. Though you responded just a minute ago, but it wasn't like a real response. It was like you acknowledging that I was talking to you. Maybe you're getting better. I hope so. I don't want to see you hurt in any way. I saw Tai hurt and I don't think I ever want to see that again. It hurt too much. I can see him, you know, in my mind. Staring at me. It's quite creepy."

Matt paused to take a breath. It occurred to him that his nervousness was getting the better of him and he was babbling like an idiot. He took several deep breaths and counted to ten yet the relaxation processes didn't work. Breathing harder now, he sat down at the table, sitting Davis across from him. The wine-haired boy gazed at him with a knowing smirk. It frightened Matt so much that he avoided meeting Davis's eyes.

"We'll be okay Davis," Matt murmured. "Joe will come back inside from looking for you and we'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

: : 7:00 AM Thursday : :

Kari stretched and looked at Sora who was brushing her hair a little ways away. The older girl faked a smile at her, but Kari knew she was just trying to make her feel better. The idea that Sora looked like an angel sitting in front of the big window, sun shining through and making her hair glisten, passed through Kari's mind. She remembered when Tai had told her about angels… Shaking her thoughts away, she looked around the room.

"Where are the other guys?" Kari asked.

"I don't know. I just woke up." Sora paused and stopped brushing her hair. She looked at Kari worriedly. "You don't think something has happened to them, do you? Last time there were three gone…"

Kari and Sora quickly scrambled to their feet and ran towards the kitchen. They each heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Matt sleeping at the table and Davis sitting across from him. Davis lifted his head and stared blankly at the two girls. Kari leaned against the doorframe and tried to slow her racing heartbeat while Sora walked over to Matt and gently shook him.

"Come on, wake up," Sora murmured.

At first Matt groggily said something and refused to wake up. Then his eyes flashed open and he sat up quickly, giving himself a head rush. He groaned and put a hand to his head.

"Where's Joe?" he mumbled. "I fell asleep before he came in last night."

Sora and Kari swapped worried looks. "What do you mean 'before he came in last night?'"

"You mean you haven't seen him this morning?"

: : Noon Thursday : :

"They said that the ferry was easier to fix than they thought and we could probably get over there about 5 today. Sound good to you?"

Mimi smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I bet they're having a great time over there without us. I can see them partying all night and sleeping all day."

Izzy laughed and sat down beside her. "Don't tell me you haven't had fun shopping all day. I swear I've never seen you happier than when you're buying a new sweater."

"I've had a great time! And thanks for buying me lending me those quarters. I swear I never have exact change," Mimi giggled shyly. Izzy grinned, thoroughly enjoying being with her. He didn't like to admit it, but he was having a much better time spending his vacation with Mimi alone instead of the others hanging around. He was seriously thinking about telling her how he felt before they went back to the island.

On the island, the remaining group of teenagers was congregated in the bedroom. TK, Davis, and Matt occupied the bed; Davis was asleep, Matt sitting watchfully beside him, and TK sitting crossed legged on the end facing Matt and Davis. Sora and Kari were sitting in chairs, which they brought in from the kitchen, beside the bed. Joe still hadn't returned and no one offered to go look for him. They were all afraid of what they'd find. And hardly a word had been spoken between the five since they'd established that Joe wasn't coming back.

It was after the two hours of mostly silence that Matt finally placed his thoughts and came to a decision. He shifted his position for the first time in a while, which caught TK's attention. The younger blonde looked at Matt curiously.

"We have to set some rules," Matt whispered. Sora and Kari looked at him, each with the same agreeing looks on their faces. Matt took a deep breath and continued. "No one is allowed to step out of this room at night. If Davis decides he wants to run, then let him. Do **not** go after him. We also will need someone to keep guard in the night."

: : 2:00 PM Thursday : :

Ken watched the approaching ferry from the shadows of the trees. It was so small and so far away on the ocean. Plus he was really far away from the beachside. He didn't want to leave his secluded place in the trees. The others didn't know where he was and that was good. If one of them decided to step foot out the beach house he would know. He could see the entire front side of the island from where he was sitting. The beach house, part of the dock, the lighthouse, and the beachside were all in plain view. But he had to leave. The ferry would be arriving any minute now and he had plans.

Izzy wrapped his coat tighter around his body and sniffled. The bitter air stung at his face but he liked the view too much to go inside the boat's cabin. The island looked so peaceful from the angle that he was taking in. He could see the waves of the ocean whipping at the beachside and couldn't wait to listen to the sound once he was on the island again. Everything looked so peaceful that it made him wonder what the others had been doing for the past days as entertainment.

Mimi stepped out of the cabin and walked to Izzy's side. He smiled at her but for the most part continued to gaze at the island. She smiled too and sighed happily. It never ceased to amaze her how Izzy could be so happy and content just looking at something. She still gave him a hard time about ignoring her at the Ruins that once, but it was all jokes. She had long forgiven him for what had happened. After that incident she noticed that Izzy paid a lot more attention to her and sometimes she wondered if it was because he was afraid she'd run off again or because of something else.

"Almost there!" Someone shouted from the cabin.

Izzy thought he saw a figure on the island disappearing into the boathouse off the side of the peer but he wasn't sure. He knew Davis and Tai really wanted to go boating that week and it had been raining at the beginning of the week. Davis and Tai couldn't sit still for more than two minutes, much less two days. They were probably dying to get out in the boat. As they got nearer to the island, Mimi came out and stood beside Izzy.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Mimi murmured.

"Yeah."

The water was lapping gently against the peer when they came to a stop beside it. Izzy got off first and then helped Mimi step over the side. One of the shipmates handed Izzy all of Mimi's bags that contained everything she'd gotten while on the mainland. He staggered backwards, trying to keep from falling over as the bags were piled higher and higher in his arms. One of the shipmates chuckled as Izzy swayed to the side and nearly dropped everything in his arms.

Mimi, on the other hand, was happily skipped across the peer to the island. She paused only when a horrible stench reached her. Disgusted, Mimi stopped and held a hand to her nose. She could tell that the smell was coming from the boathouse off the side of the peer. She was about to call for Izzy to check it out, but remembered he was carrying her stuff and decided against it. Instead she walked, making repulsed faces as she did, to the door that led into the boathouse. She pushed it open and peered inside. The horrible smell was now mixed with the smell of dust and that made it even more unbearable. Holding her breath, Mimi reached along the wall for a switch.

Waving goodbye as best he could to the leaving ferry, Izzy readjusted the items in his arms and turned around. He could just barely see over the box on top and that made it extra difficult to see where he was walking. This whole situation gave him the incredible fear that he was going to walk off the side of the peer and ruin all of Mimi's things, including his laptop. And it mixed with the pain he knew he would suffer by the wrath of Mimi.

Finally finding the light switch, Mimi flicked it on. It buzzed for a moment and then came on with a popping noise. The smell got stronger as Mimi moved into the boathouse. Something blue drifting in the water next to the boat caught her attention and she walked to where it was. Mimi instantly recognized the article of clothing as Joe's jacket. She rolled her eyes; it would figure a man would let his dry-clean only jacket be tossed into the water.

Intent on rescuing the jacket before it was too destroyed, Mimi kneeled down and reached for the jacket that was rocking back and forth with the waves in the water. She barely managed to grab the jacket with her fingertips and began to pull it out of the salty water. As she pulled, a figure underneath the jacket became visible, bobbing as the waves went over and over the top of it.

Mimi gasped sharply and dropped the jacket when she recognized the pale face of Joe below the water. His eyes were missing, the result of fish, and his mouth was open almost as if he'd been screaming as he drowned when the tide came in. Mimi scrambled to her feet, too shocked to cry out for help. Her heart sped up and she hurriedly backed away from the watery depths that had already stolen Joe. She backed right into the wall of the boathouse and the whole building shook. It was then that Mimi found where the stench was coming from because Iori's lifeless body fell from above and landed with a loud, disgusting thud in the boat. Terrified, Mimi managed a squeak and spun around to run from the gruesome sight.

An agonizing scream that was definitely recognized as Mimi's set the hairs on the back of Izzy's neck on end. He dropped the things in his arms, no longer worrying about what happened to them. Mimi often got upset and screamed over little things, but there was so much pain and horror in this screech that rose in the air that Izzy winced as if he could feel what was happening. He burst into the boathouse, immediately welcomed by a tainted smell.

Mimi was laying face down on the platform.

Izzy raced to her side and picked her up, rolling her over in his arms. Blood streamed from her head, staining her auburn hair crimson, and her eyes were glazed, lifeless. "Mimi… no…"

A heavy object collided with the back of Izzy's skull and he was knocked unconscious.

_At the beach house…_

"Sora's been in the bathroom for way to long," Kari thought aloud. She got now reply from the two blondes staring emotionlessly at inanimate objects. The only person who seemed to be looking at her was Davis, and his empty stare was unnerving. So, Kari scooted her chair away from the table and stood up. "I'm going to see if Sora is all right."

She again got no reply and decided it was better not to ask for one. As she started to walk away, Davis lightly ran fingers down her arm, sending a tingling shiver through her. His tilted his head to the side and blinked. For once, Kari thought she saw a look of… _something_ go across his face, but ignored it, knowing there was no mind behind Davis's actions now. She was tempted to smile at the grisly thought that there had never _been_ a mind behind Davis's actions.

Instead, she pulled her arm away from Davis and headed for the bedroom. It was warmer than the kitchen and with the sun shining through the large windows, a warm feeling spread through Kari. For a moment, she felt like nothing had gone wrong that week, and this was all a horrible dream that she'd wake up from any minute now. For a moment, she thought Tai would suddenly appear and tell her everything was okay.

But her mind told her that this was not a dream and Tai was gone for good.

Chocking back tears, Kari proceeded towards the bathroom. She knocked on the door first, and then said against the wood, "Sora? Are you in there? Sora?"

The air was still, and everything was quiet. A surge of fear shot through Kari as she turned the doorknob to the bathroom, silently praying that Sora was okay on the other side of the door. She pushed the door open quickly, half expecting something to jump out at her. Yet, in place of all the thoughts that her imagination created, there was nothing – and no one – in the bathroom. Confused, Kari hesitantly stepped into the bathroom.

Everything appeared to be perfectly in order and clean, as if nobody had ever been in the bathroom at all. Kari thought that maybe Sora escaped out the window, but it was closed and locked from the inside. The only thing that seemed out of place was the medicine cabinet, which was wide open. Kari stepped up to the sink and closed the cabinet, getting her reflection staring back at her as she did.

But she also got the reflection of a bloody body inert in the bathtub that had been blocked from her view minutes before by the bathroom door.

Gasping as she acknowledged the back of the head, Kari turned away from the mirror and put a hand to her mouth. She closed her eyes, only to quickly reopen them as the image of the bathtub filled up to the brim with red water around Sora's head sticking out, facing the wall, flashed before her eyelids. At least she didn't have to see the older girl's face. She had to get out of the bathroom and to Matt and TK, but her legs weren't working. She did manage to lift her head to look in the mirror again.

Absolute horror gripped Kari's heart when her eyes met with Sora's blazing chestnut ones as the older girl smirked at her in the mirror.


	5. Three's a Crowd

The ending is short. There will be some scenes you didn't see as another chapter though, some come back after a few days a see what went on that you didn't get to read. I do not own Digimon. Review.

*  *  *  *  *

Horrified, Kari spun around and watched, mouth open and gaping, as Sora placed both hands on the sides of the tub and stood up slowly, almost menacingly. She leaned back against the sink counter, trying to get as far away from the girl who was gradually stepping out of the tub and moving towards her. The red water dripped off of Sora's clothes and her skin no longer was its soft tan color but now a stained cherry. The smirk never left her face as she walked towards Kari, bringing a knife from behind her back.

Kari opened her mouth to scream but Sora leapt on her, covering her mouth with her hand, and stabbed her viciously in the heart. Intense pain shot through Kari's body, radiating from her chest, and she could only squeak as Sora began to cut her stomach apart. Sora didn't stop until Kari's head turned limply to the side and her eyes dropped to an eerie dull.

Satisfied, Sora threw the knife aside and opened the cabinet below the sink that was beside her. Inside was a gun that she had placed there. She'd brought two guns to the island. One was in the boathouse - with the now dead Mimi and Izzy and the already dead Joe and Iori - and one in the bathroom. She'd planned everything out perfectly. The gun she had in her hand now was only a six-shooter, which meant she had two shots each for Matt, TK, and Davis. The one in the boathouse was a flintlock pistol. She wasn't even sure if it still worked, but if it did - if one of the dead decided they were dead yet - she could blow a hole through them, literally.

Matt eyed the bedroom door. Kari and Sora were gone. He guessed they might have gone to the bedroom or bathroom or wherever together just to be safe, but didn't know for sure. He hadn't been paying attention with they left and cursed himself for that. He waited a little longer, but neither girl showed up. Fairly annoyed, Matt got to his feet. He thought for a moment about telling TK, but the boy appeared too lost in thought to bother. Instead, he walked to the bedroom door.

Sora was coming out of the bathroom as Matt was coming into the bedroom. His eyes widened at the blood that covered her clothes, but she didn't give him a chance to speak as she leveled the gun at his chest and fired. Matt stumbled back and hit the wall hard, holding his chest. He slid down the wall to the floor and then in a few more seconds he drooped to the floor, his eyes closing. Sora smiled triumphantly and walked to the bedroom door.

_Jumping back a few minutes…_

A gunshot made TK jump out of his thoughts. After that a thud sounded as something hit the bedroom wall right behind him. He gasped, realizing that he was in trouble and shot out of his seat to the other side of the room where he was going to make a run for it through the dining room, den, and out the mudroom door. He was pushing the dining room door open when he remembered Davis, who was still sitting at the table watching TK's movements curiously.

Spinning around, TK ran back to Davis and grabbed his wrist. He jerked Davis out of the chair and pulled him towards the dining room. The bedroom door opened before he got there and he twisted around right as Sora shot her gun again. The bullet his him in his lower stomach and made him crash to the ground, pulling Davis down with him. He choked as blood went up his throat and dribbled down his chin. He opened his mouth in hope to get air, his teeth dripping red, but the only thing that came was more blood and it to went down the front of him. A growing red spot grew where the bullet hit, and the pain as burning through TK like fire.

Yet he reminded himself he couldn't give up. He put a hand down on the floor for stability, using the other to hold his side, and tried to sit up. He heard the clicking sound of Sora's bloody shoes sticking to the floor with each step she took towards him and raised his eyes fearfully to her as she stood over him, swinging the gun in her hand and smiling at him. Sora kneeled down beside him and breathed in deeply, as if she loved the smell of blood. Though that was a possibility since she was covered in it.

"I suppose you want to know why, hm?" Sora sighed, ending it with an amused smirk. TK didn't reply, only coughing up more blood as he slowly died. Sora smiled wider at this. "I knew you would. I suppose you still think there is a possibility that you'll live. Don't count on it. You and Davis are the only two left alive on this island, other than myself of course. Soon, I'll be the only person left on this island. I guess this means I'll be the only digidestined still alive, too."

Sora laughed at this. TK couldn't hold himself up any longer and fell back against the floor. He closed his eyes but reopened them quickly, telling himself not to give up. Davis was looking at him curiously from beside Sora. He didn't seem to notice Sora there and kept looking at TK. His curious, yet empty, stare only made it harder for TK to stay alive.

Noticing TK looking elsewhere, Sora placed an arm on Davis's shoulder, not that the boy noticed. "Worried about Davis? Don't. He'll die, too. I imagine he'll be the easiest to kill, just sitting there for me as I shoot him. Do you think he'll even feel the pain? Let's find out."

Sora put the gun right up to the fabric of Davis's shirt against his chest. He looked down at the gun and then at Sora, finally acknowledging that there was someone else besides him and TK in the kitchen. Sora laughed as he tilted his head to the side and blinked. As she started to pull the trigger, TK used all of his strength to move and knocked Sora's arm. The gun still fired, but it was pushed far enough that it only grazed Davis's shoulder. He yelped anyway and held his shoulder.

"I guess he does feel pain," Sora mocked. She looked back at TK, who had fallen to the floor again. "That was a dumb move, Takeru."

TK was too weak to move anymore. Even his eyelids felt like they had weights tied to them. When Sora and Davis started to get fuzzy, he finally let his eyes close. Memories from his life flashed through his mind. One that stuck was when he was with Sora in the digiworld and she was taking care of him since his brother was gone. But Matt had come back that time and he wasn't coming back this time. TK choked on his blood again he started to sob. He forced his eyes open.

The tears streaming down TK's face took Sora's attention away from Davis and back to him. She scoffed. "You're still alive? I must say Takeru, you have a strong will to live." She reached down and caught one of TK's tears with her fingertip. "How sad. I suppose you have suffered enough. You always were my favorite. It's not fair I'm putting you through this."

With that, Sora shot him in the head. She waited a moment to make sure he was dead for sure, wiping the rest of the tears off his cheek and closing his eyes, something she hadn't done for anyone else. TK _was_ her favorite. She'd felt like a mother to him when they were in the digiworld. He needed her. But then they went back to the _real_ world, and he went back to his _real_ mother, and he didn't need her anymore. He deserved his death.

Sora broke off her thoughts of TK before she could regret his death. Davis was still sitting beside her, looking at TK almost as if he was waiting for the blonde to get up and talk to him. Sora got to her feet and stretched. Blood covered nearly her entire body now, making everything she did a sticky move. She sighed and looked at the one last person that was to die. And that person wasn't even trying to fight for his life.

"I guess this is it Davis," Sora said coldly. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Davis imitated.

Sneer, Sora directed the pistol at his head. A deafening gunshot rang through the air, but it wasn't from the weapon in her hand. Sora's eyes widened and the pistol slipped from her hand, landing on the floor with a clank. She dropped to her knees, reaching for her side, where the pain was coming from. To her shock, a blood was pouring and she collapsed completely to the floor. She cried out and rolled onto her back, now in a pool of her **own** blood. She raised her eyes dizzily. Standing in the doorway of the kitchen was Ken, and in his hand was the flintlock gun.

: : Three Weeks Later : :

Ken peered at Davis through the large window of his hospital room, only it wasn't a medical hospital. Davis had been admitted a couple days after he was found as the only survivor of brutal murders on the island. The police tried to question him, but they found that it was a lost cause. The doctors diagnosed a mental illness caused by shock soon after that. Thus, that led Davis to where he was now, sitting on the edge of his bed staring out a window blankly.

The police received an emergency phone call at 2:30 PM Thursday, which was about the time Kari was walking into the bathroom inside the beach house. It had taken a while to figure out what the person on the other end was saying. Their voice sounded hazy and a crackly noise came through the phone line, indicating the call was made on a cell phone. The call had been made in a female's voice.

Mimi's to be exact.

By the time the police reached the island, she was already dead.

Nine bodies were found. The police searched the island for the other two, but after a week of finding nothing, they declared that the other two bodies were carried out with the tide. It was documented that the two bodies had been tied down in the water like Joe's, but the ropes failed and thus they were pulled out to sea. The murderer was decided as Takenouchi Sora, whom was killed by Takaishi Takeru with a flintlock pistol. The police guessed that after shooting TK in the stomach, she turned to murder Davis, whom been sitting at the table the entire time, but TK pulled out the flintlock and shot her in the back. As she died, she shot him in the head. Davis was blank through all of this.

Ken smiled sadly as a doctor dressed in one-of-a-kind neon yellow scrubs entered Davis's room and started trying to talk to insane boy. Ken took this as his cue to leave and turned away from the window. He glanced back - his eyes meeting up briefly with Davis's empty ones - before moving on. He left the mental hospital and walked to the lake nearby, leaning on the rails that were put there to prevent any of the patients at the hospital to drown themselves. He started to think again as he stared at the small waves breaking the lake's surface.

Of course, Sora didn't kill everyone. How could she be in two places at the same time? How could she kill Joe when she was still asleep in the bed that night? And if she didn't kill everyone, then she had an accomplice. She had to have one. Otherwise, she would have started to worry when someone turned up dead that she didn't kill. Who was her accomplice? It definitely wasn't Ken or Davis. So if everyone was murdered on the island except Ken and Davis, then who was her accomplice?

"I thought you'd be sick of water." Ken felt a chin rest gently on his shoulder and arms place themselves near his, the person behind him also looking across the lake. Ken laughed softly and turned around to face the person.

Matt.

Two people were missing and presumed dead, their bodies carried with the tide into the deep depths of the ocean. It had never occurred to the police that maybe their two missing bodies were missing because they weren't dead. And since they hadn't been on the island through all of the murders, they did not know Sora would have to have an accomplice to commit some of the murders without others knowing. Sora indeed had only killed Mimi, Izzy, TK, and Kari. So who killed the others?

Matt was Sora's accomplice. The reason she shot him coming out of the bathroom was simple: if TK had come in the room, it would look silly to see Matt sitting on the bed waiting for Sora to finish everyone off. How would he explain that to his brother? _Oh, I thought Sora would kill you by now. Where is she anyway?_ Matt loved TK, but not enough that he thought the squirt should live. Yet, at the same time, Matt did not murder anyone on the island. Not a single soul. His hands were not stained with blood, metaphorically speaking. But if Matt didn't kill anyone, then who killed the other four destined? That was simple equation also.

"Let's go," Ken said and the two drew away from the railing. They were supposed to be dead now and had freedom.

Matt had an accomplice.

Sora believed that she and Matt came up with the plan to get rid of the rest of the digidestined. She believed that Matt murdered Yolei, Joe, Tai, Iori, _and_ Ken. What she didn't know was that she was being used in a plot devised by Matt and Ken. She was being used as a tool; a person to frame. Poor Sora never had a clue. She loved Matt more than everything else in her world and would do anything for him. However, Matt did not love her.

It's guessed that Ken killed the other four digidestined. That wasn't true either. Ken only killed Tai and Iori. Both had been rather easy to do away with. Iori was murdered before anyone knew he was even coming on the vacation. He rode to the island with Ken. They were the last people to arrive at the island. Yet only Ken made it to the beach house alive. He slaughtered Iori as soon as the ferry was gone and placed the smaller boy in the top of the boathouse. All Ken had to do with Tai was lead the soccer player to the lighthouse and proceed from there.

So who murdered Yolei and Joe?

Yet another simple question.

Davis.

Ken paused in their walking. Matt stopped too and turned around to face him curiously. Ken sighed and looked away from Matt. "There's something you should know, Matt. I've lied to you."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, furrowing his brow.

Ken didn't reply, making an uneasy air set about the two of them. Matt opened his mouth to ask again, but a figure walking towards them dressed neon yellow outfit caught his attention. He looked over Ken's shoulder at the approaching person and as he recognized the person as Davis, he got somewhat curious. _Shouldn't Davis be at the hospital?_ He began to worry, however, when Davis wrapped his arms around Ken's waist and leaned forward to brush a warm kiss across the base of Ken's neck. He looked at Matt, only the expression wasn't a blank stare; it was full of pure sanity and evil. Ken grinned equally evilly at Matt and produced a pistol from beneath his jacket.

"There's a problem, Matt. You see, three's a crowd."


End file.
